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Chris Tisch - Senior Editor/Environment, Breaking News and Justice
Chris Tisch

Senior Editor/Environment, Breaking News and Justice

I'm the editor of the Times' breaking news and criminal justice team, a group of about a dozen editors and reporters who bring you the Tampa Bay area's most urgent stories. I've lived in the Tampa Bay area since 1995 after growing up in a remote town of 2,500 in northern Wisconsin. After a childhood filled with things like ice fishing, Green Bay Packers worship and saying funny words like "bubbler" and "you betcha," I studied journalism at Northwestern University before landing a job covering the cops beat at the Bradenton Herald. I came to the Times five years later and have been in the thick of a number of big stories, including covering Florida's death penalty, riding out and reporting on Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, helping with the Terri Schiavo story and co-authoring a project about the mounting number of fatal prescription drug overdoses in Florida.

  1. Lanes of I-375 in St. Pete closed after reports of man being held at gunpoint
    • St. Petersburg
    St. Petersburg police closed the eastbound lanes of Interstate 375 Monday after the received reports that a man was being held at gunpoint.
  2. A Pinellas sex offender faked his death 15 years ago. Now he is caught, feds say
    • Crime
    A Pinellas sex offender on the lam for 16 years after faking his death has been arrested in Indiana, the U.S. Marshal's Service says.
  3. Melissa ‘a recipe for disaster’ for parts of Caribbean. Florida not out of woods yet
    • Hurricane
    Tropical Storm Melissa is expected to power up to a major hurricane. Though its chances of affecting Florida are low, it can't be ruled out. Parts of the Caribbean are bracing for a serious threat.
  5. 7-year-old girl hit, killed while running across Tampa road Sunday night
    • Tampa
    A 7-year-old girl died after she was hit by a pickup truck as she ran across a roadway with two other children Sunday night, troopers said.
  6. Bloody footprints. A bullet in a window. Now an arrest in Pinellas homicide
    • Crime
    A search warrant was issued for a home in the 1500 block of Illinois Road after a shooting last month.
  7. Man fatally shot in Tarpon Springs after he ‘unlawfully entered’ residence, police say
    • Crime
    A man was shot and killed in Tarpon Springs early Saturday after he unlawfully entered a residence, police said.
  8. Semitrailer bursts into flames after crashing on I-275 exit in St. Pete
    • Pinellas
    A tractor-trailer burst into flames Tuesday morning after a crash on an exit ramp from Interstate 275 to the Gateway Expressway.
  9. Missing St. Petersburg woman feared kidnapped by ex found safe
    • Crime
    St. Petersburg police believe Jayanna Clark may have been kidnapped.
  10. Toddler hit, killed by vehicle being backed out of Plant City driveway, police say
    • Hillsborough
    A boy died Tuesday in Plant City after he was hit by a car.
  11. Fire crews still on scene of 3-alarm Tampa scrapyard blaze on Friday morning
    • Hillsborough
    Hillsborough County Fire Rescue works to extinguish a three-alarm blaze at Liberty Recycle at 5207 St. Paul St. in Tampa on Thursday.
  12. Driver arrested in rear-end crash that killed baby in Pasco
    • Crime
    An 8-month-old boy was killed in a rear-end crash in Pasco County over the weekend.
  13. Hulk Hogan dies in Clearwater at 71, city officials say
    • Breaking News
    Wrestling icon Hulk Hogan, shown in this 2014 photo, has died in Clearwater, city officials say.
  14. People in 2 vehicles shoot at each other in Brandon road rage, deputies say
    • Crime
    A road rage incident on West Brandon Boulevard Thursday afternoon resulted in people from two vehicles shooting at one another, Hillsborough deputies said.
  15. Fatal park stabbing, domestic shooting, train death under investigation in Hillsborough
    • Hillsborough
    A Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office van is shown at the scene of a fatal stabbing on Sunday evening.
  16. Pinellas man arrested in deaths of parents in Largo area
    • Crime
    A Largo man has been arrested in connection with the deaths of his parents.
  17. Gold & Diamond Source employee stole watches worth $650K, deputies say
    • Crime
    A former employee at the Gold & Diamond Source in Pinellas County has been arrested in connection with the theft of $650,000 worth of watches, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office reported.
  18. Daughter shoots dad during custody exchange at Pinellas sheriff’s HQ, officials say
    • Crime
    The entrance to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office administration building at 10750 Ulmerton Road is shown in this 2019 photo. A shooting occurred outside the building during a custody exchange on Sunday, officials said.
  19. Hurricane season 2025: Checklists for building all kinds of storm kits
    • Hurricane
    A look inside one of the Tampa Bay Times’ hurricane kits.
  20. St. Pete crash that killed 2 caused by speeding tow truck driver on phone, cops say
    • Crime
    St. Petersburg police have arrested a tow truck driver in connection with a crash last year that killed two people.
  21. 6-year-old critically hurt in Largo Walmart parking lot hit-and-run crash
    • Crime
    A woman and her 6-year-old child were hit by a vehicle outside a Walmart on Thursday.
  22. Deadly home invasion in St. Pete’s Disston Heights leads to murder charge
    • Crime
    A deadly home invasion robbery has led to a murder arrest in St. Petersburg.
  23. Plant City gas station argument spills outside, turns deadly
    • Hillsborough
    Police say a shooting at a Plant City gas station appears to be self-defense.
  24. Jeff Knight steps down from Jannus Live after boat crash
    • Pinellas
    Jeff Knight is seen on the phone while sitting in a boat that authorities say collided with the Clearwater Ferry on Sunday, resulting in one death and multiple injuries.